Avista Corporation (AVA) – What Are Analysts Saying About This Stock?

Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $38.75.

AVA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings lowered Avista from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Barclays dropped their price target on Avista from $37.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 9th.

Avista Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVA opened at $40.31 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.96. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $36.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.71. Avista has a fifty-two week low of $34.46 and a fifty-two week high of $43.50. The firm has a market cap of $3.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.22, a P/E/G ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 0.22.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $421.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $425.52 million. Avista had a net margin of 12.75% and a return on equity of 7.87%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Avista will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.4925 per share. This represents a $1.97 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 24th. Avista’s dividend payout ratio is 66.11%.

Insider Activity at Avista

In related news, VP Joshua Diluciano sold 4,675 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.24, for a total value of $174,097.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 8,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $310,358.16. This trade represents a 35.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.78% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avista

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in Avista by 184.2% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 56,881 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,190,000 after acquiring an additional 36,866 shares in the last quarter. Summit Global Investments bought a new stake in shares of Avista in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,331,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Avista in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $12,535,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Avista in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,631,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of Avista in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,129,000. 85.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Avista

Avista Corporation is an energy company whose principal business is providing regulated electric and natural gas service through Avista Utilities. Its operations include generating, transmitting and distributing electricity, as well as distributing natural gas to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Avista serves communities in eastern Washington and northern Idaho, along with parts of Oregon. The company also owns Alaska Electric Light and Power, which provides electric service in Juneau and nearby communities.